People & Characters

Ananias (of Jerusalem)

A member of the early Jerusalem church who, together with his wife Sapphira, was struck dead for lying to the Holy Spirit about the proceeds from a land sale.

Ananias sold a piece of property but secretly kept back part of the money for himself while bringing the remainder to the apostles. Peter confronted him, declaring that he had lied not to men but to God. Upon hearing these words, Ananias fell down and died. His wife Sapphira arrived three hours later, repeated the same lie, and suffered the same fate. The event instilled great fear in the early church.
Scripture References 1